Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-11-17
A SUMNER IN Y
Delights of Existence In the Land OF the
Nile-Quick springing Crops.

that is a mistake, and one which would
be less prevalent, perhaps, il it were not
fostered by foreign officials, who wish to
prove that they need a three months
holiday every year. OF course. if a man
begins the day with brandy and soda and
unlimited lemon squashes, followed upby
a heavy lunch, and then retires beneath
the mosquito curtains for a siesta until 3
o'clock, he will wake up unrefreshed. II
he then calls a carriage and is driven
about till dinner time, he will probably
only begin 10 feel alive about 10 O'Clock.
He will not feel disposed to retire until
the small hours. and will waken In the
morning as weary as when he went to
bed. This is a matter Of course. for
which he should not blame the climate
much. Compared with Indian heat the
temperature Of Egypt is refreshing; for,
however sultry the day may be, there Is
a long, cool night. The only real trial is
the length of the hot season. A couple
of months of more intense heat would he
much easier 10 bear than the steady,
gentle grilling from May to October.
But, after all, an average temperature Of
90 in the daytime out of doors-which
NAV he reduced TO so in the large native
rooms-sinking ONE 10 degrees OF 10
degrees at night, does not constitute a
very formidable summer climate.
1t is interesting to study an entirely
different Egypt from that described by
the hundred and one authors who have
undertaken, at the solicitation of their
friends. q record of their experiences.
There is perpetual delight in watching
the slow and solid rise Of the mighty Nile.
swollen by the rains in UNEMPLOYED
lands beyond the equator, roll
ing along its thousands Of miles
below khartoum without a tribu-
tary, always giving to the thirsty fields
on either side, never receiving, but
ever flowing with a daily increasing tide
truly one Of the worlds greatest won
ders. Gradually it fills the canals, and,
mounting its banks, climbs softly up till
it laps over and floods the landscape, till
as Car as the eve can reach from the river
bed Egypt is one great lake. The villages
with their clusters of palms lie dotted
here and there. like tiny Islands in the
sea, and the fellah has time TO cross his
hands and look on with silent pleasure at
the great Nile fructifying his acres with
rich mold from the heart Of Africa.
Then as quickly or as slowly as it has
risen the river sinks, leaving stagnant
pools which the sun ticks up, and the
new layer Of mud cracks into great
chasms dear to the heart Of the ~cultivator
and ready for the quick s~pringing crop.
The fresh growth is almost miraculous
in its rapidity. Where one week all that
that meets the eye is a muddy marsh
covered with waterfowl, ten days later
the lovely tender green of the young
corn or berseen is covering the land.
Then the real work Of the fellah COM
mences; which is TO prevent too much
water lying on his acres, and yet to supply
the requisite amount of moisture. The
pickax and shovel, the donkey and camel.
baby girl and the baby boy, all are
tSessed into service, till gradually the
proper supply is obtained and the crop
springs up victorious, a home for the
winter flight of quail and a carefully pre-.
pared hunting ground for the sportsman.
Wild duck and other aquatic fowl re-
joice in the Nile food. and a goodly flock
| of pelicans are 10 be found. The summer
plumage of the l-year-old birds is peculiar
" beautiful, the underside Of each feather
being Of a shell like rose color. One bird
will give eighteen inches square Of the
most lovely feathers. and a dozen skins
will make an opera cloak beautiful
enough to cause any woman's eyes TO
glisten. Soon in lower Egypt the cotton
fields are in full bloom, a mass of glorious
yellow between gold and primrose color,
whose blossoms mean money. Quickly
the color fades to the universal brown OF
| the pods. till they break out again with
the snowy fluff Of ripeness. and the cotton
crop is ready for the picker. Probably
not one in a hundred Of visitors TO the
Nile land has ever seen a cotton field in
flower. 1t is n Of the sights reserved
for the summer martyrs.
What the cotton plant is to the delta
the sugar cane Is to the country between
Cairo and Assouan. The ane is laid
down in the early summer in pieces Of
about a foot long. overlapping each other
in the long burrows. Boys then walk
along stamping down the ends, and the
earth is turned over. The process OF
taking root does not require much time,
and when once the spikes appear above
ground they shoot up almost visibly. By
the end Of August the planter work is
over, and he will tell you that there are
many worse places in which to spend the
summer than Bibeh, Magagah or Erment.
The morning rides and the moonlit strolls
through the plantations would supply
material for sketching much less hack
neyed than mosques, pyramids and
camels.
Whatever Europeans may feel, sum.
mer is the season the native really loves.
In the winter he goes about with his
head wrapped up IN multifarious shawls,
cursing the Franks who have brought
rain and cold, and bemoaning his own
hard lot. The few piasters he can earn
viii not afford him a fire, and his house,
II he has one, is w~retchedly bare. In the
summer lac can sprawl about on the
ground in comfortable warmth all night
long, and a few beans in the pod or Q
couple Of yards Of sugar cane and Q
pumpkin give him a cheap and delicious
meal. Dust is better than mud for bare
feet, and the baking Of the sun is purc
delight 10 the Arab born. In the town
he can have his nightly fantasias Of
other open air amusements, which cost
nothing.
The beasts have their share II enjoy,
ment from the overlooking abundance O
food, and the humblest donkey banquet
royalty. No n who has ever seen Q
mule or a donkey roll in the dust when